During the Autumn term, our topic was Traditional Tales, with a focus on The Gingerbread Man, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Nativity Story and Stick Man. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring these familiar stories and became increasingly confident in talking about characters, settings and key events.

We introduced story mapping to support children in retelling stories, which proved highly effective. Children used actions, pictures and sequence language to recall events, and many began to independently retell stories in their own words. This was further supported through the use of props and the small world area, where children enthusiastically re enacted stories, developed their imagination and engaged in collaborative play.

Communication and language development was supported daily through circle time, using the Red Rose Phonological Awareness planning. Children made good progress in listening, attention and turn-taking, and showed growing confidence when speaking within a group.

Personal, social and emotional development was promoted through My Happy Minds, with a focus on the theme Celebrate. Children learnt about celebrating achievements and expressing their feelings. 

A highlight of the term was our Nativity performance, where the children performed brilliantly. They had great fun learning new songs and actions and showed confidence when performing in front of an audience. We also enjoyed a visit to the Peter Pan pantomime in Lytham, which was an exciting and memorable experience for the children.

The Christmas period was filled with lots of festive fun. Children learnt that Christmas is celebrated as Jesus’ birthday, baked gingerbread, and took part in a variety of Christmas crafts, developing both fine motor skills and creativity.

In Maths, children focused on the number 2 and explored repeating patterns through practical, hands on activities. Many children were able to recognise, continue and create their own simple patterns.

Overall, the Autumn term has been a busy and enjoyable one, with the children making good progress across all areas of learning while developing confidence, independence and a love of stories.